The Convent of Santa Inés was a convent in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

from 1600 to 1861, later separated into the present day

Church of Santa Inés The Church of Santa Inés is a church located at 26 Moneda Street, just northeast of the Zócalo, Mexico City, Mexico. The building, formerly part of the Convent of Santa Inés, is considered to be a mix of styles between Mexican Baroque architec ...

and José Luis Cuevas Museum, located just off the

Zócalo Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztecs, Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza us ...

within the

Historic center of Mexico City The historic center of Mexico City (), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on the Zócalo (or main plaza) and extending in all directions for a number of blocks, with its fart ...

History

The convent was founded in 1600 by Don Diego Caballero and his wife Doña Inés de Velasco. Their patronage was funded by their ownership of the largest sugar cane processing operation in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. The convent was originally built to accommodate 33 nuns, equal to the number of years

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

spent on earth. In colonial times, it also took in Spanish orphans who did not have a dowry. In return, these orphans were required to pray an hour a day for their benefactors. The complex suffered damage in 1624 as a result of flooding and again in 1639 due to a fire. In 1710, its single tower was built, which was high enough to be seen from the main plaza of town. Towards the end of the 18th century, its ceiling was rotten, and the church and tower were cracked. The complex was repaired under the patronage of the Marquis of La Cadena. The convent existed until 1861, when due to the Nationalization of Church Property Act, all covents and monasteries in the country were disbanded. The nuns here were moved first to Santa Teresa La Antigua then later to Santa Catalina de Siena. The tower was demolished, and the church and convent were separated with the convent’s residence portion being sold into private hands due to the nationalization of church property at that time. The convent and

were declared a national monument in 1932, but it remained private property as

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

s until the 1980s, when

José Luis Cuevas José Luis Cuevas (February 26, 1934 – July 3, 2017) was a Mexican artist, he often worked as a painter, writer, draftsman, engraver, illustrator, and printmaker. Cuevas was one of the first to challenge the then dominant Mexican muralism ...

bought the property with the intention to restoring it and establishing the current museum dedicated to his art and art of contemporary Latin America.

References

{{Historic buildings of Mexico City Centro 1660 establishments in New Spain 1860s disestablishments in Mexico 1861 disestablishments Former convents in Mexico City Historic center of Mexico City

History

See also

References